About a week after he left the hospital, Mark had a follow-up with the surgeon who operated on his leg. He allowed Mark to take off the brace that was limiting his movement, which we were thrilled about! The less-than-thrilling news was the x-ray indicated that Mark is still not able to put any weight on his right leg. This doesn’t mean that he isn’t healing – I think the doctor is just being precautionary and would rather wait than have Mark trying to walk before he’s ready. But of course we were bummed, because we thought it would be a bit sooner. Mark has another appointment this coming Thursday, and we’re hoping he’ll get the green light this time. That is our big prayer request for the time being.
The last few weeks have really been a waiting and healing period. Mark was having physical therapy at our home for a while, but they made as much progress as they could until he’s cleared to use the other leg. He officially “graduated” from home PT last week, when he learned to use crutches. He’s still wobbly, but at least the crutches don’t solicit jokes about putting tennis balls on the bottom the way his walker did. Mark has spent much of the last few weeks in his new garage, which friends remodeled as a surprise for his homecoming. We have been able to go around town a bit, but Mark still struggles with fatigue and nausea if he does too much. So, for the time being, we decided to take a timeshare week that we had to cancel in April, and are spending a couple days in Carlsbad to relax and refuel. There is a pool here, and it has been wonderful for Mark to do his legs exercises in a “weightless” environment.
There was an article about Mark in our local news magazine, The Current. You can read it at http://65.54.244.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=5b19e8e353b8bfc395db0e28fd62c9fe&lat=1083626759&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fepaper%2eocregister%2ecom%2fDefault%2fClient%2easp%3fenter%3dtrue%26skin%3dOCW%26Daily%3dOCWTheCurrentWest%26GZ%3dT%26AW%3d1083366678578 . It was a little strange to see the details in print, but hopefully it can be a witness to others of the hope God can provide.
We’ll head home on Thursday, for Mark’s next follow-up appointment, and hopefully next week he’ll start the physical therapy process to walk again. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!
